Rituals and Beliefs Ingrained in World Language Pedagogy: Defining Deep Structure and Conventional Wisdom

Abstract

Abstract-Why are so many teachers still not using communicative methods or making communicative language teaching (CLT) a part of their daily instructional approach? Many world language teachers seem to posses certain beliefs about language teaching, and perform particular rituals, which emphasize rote grammar learning and translation. Teachers' beliefs, based on their values and experiences, significantly influence their methods. Deep structure, molded by conventional wisdom shared by teachers, constitutes a barrier that inherently makes it difficult to change world language pedagogy. Teachers need support from inside and outside their classrooms to try new methods in order to break away from rituals and beliefs world language teachers have valued for centuries.Index Terms-conventional wisdom, deep structure, educational reform, teacher beliefs, world language education

Looking Into a Crystal Ball: Is Requiring High‐Stakes Language Proficiency Tests Really Going to Improve World Language Education?

“…However, foregrounding proficiency does not consider the possibility that those student teachers who score Advanced Low or higher are not necessarily, simply for that reason, inclined to use communicative methods to teach language and culture to their own PK–12 students. All too often in the many classrooms I have visited, I have seen novice and veteran teachers with high proficiency, even native speakers, speaking in English to their students about grammar points, and not promoting the development of proficiency in their instruction (Burke, ). In my research, and in my formal and informal classroom visits, whether teachers do or do not have Advanced level proficiency, they continue to use traditional methods of language teaching, using translation, drills, noncontextual explicit grammar teaching, grammar practice worksheets, separation of language and culture, and English as the medium of instruction (Burke, ).…”

Teacher leadership and the advancement of teacher agency

“…The structure of the TLC System supports conditions that characterize impactful, high-quality PD, as defined by Garet, Porter, Desimone, Birman, and Yoon (2001) and Burke (2011). The PD is sustained over time, in terms of both the intensive nature of the contact learning time itself and the span of time over which successive, related learning opportunities take place.…”

Is the Field of Foreign Language Education Disposed to Change?

“…I should state before continuing that I consider the foreign language field to fare rather poorly when it comes to change. I join Burke (2011) in perceiving a quasi-impenetrable "deep structure" that governs much of the field, which, as it does for her, reveals itself to me time and time again while conducting observations or glancing into commonly used textbooks. I also think that foreign language education underperforms in terms of student proficiency outcomes, largely due to curricular conservatism (Martel, 2013).…”